


Second Chances: Crow

by TheCrazyFriend



Series: Second Chances: Crow [2]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Interactive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 09:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 13,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17119040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrazyFriend/pseuds/TheCrazyFriend
Summary: Max goes back in time to fix it allReader choice. Read second chances: prologue before reading. Storyline two of three





	1. Jane

_What the fuck?!?_ “Where the hell am I?”  
“Max? You okay?” a stranger's face loomed out of the darkness she had been gripped by. “Max?”  
“I... I'm fine” Max mumbled, looking around. She wasn't outside somewhere, she was in a bedroom with a girl she barely recognized. The girl had blonde hair and was slightly taller than Max  
“Okay, Max, you’re freaking me out now”  
“I'm so sorry, I was confused by the flash. I'm okay now.” _I’d be okay if I could look at my phone or ask her the date without sounding suspicious_. “This is really good though” she indicated the life-like drawing of the crow.  
“I'm glad you do,” the other girl, Jane, replied. “I actually drew it for you” she turned away to pick the drawing up and in those few moments, Max checked her phone, promptly dropping it with a loud thud. “Max?” 

_Shit, shit, shit, shit!!_ Max slowly looked away from the phone she had dropped and back at her friend. “It’s tonight” she whispered, “the Vortex Club party is tonight”  
“Vortex Club?”  
“A high school club”  
“Max, you're not even in senior year of high school yet?”  
“But a friend of mine is... Oh hell, she’s gonna get into trouble, I gotta help her”  
“Max, you're scaring me”  
“I'm sorry but I gotta go, go back to Arcadia Bay”  
“Is this about Chloe?”  
“No, it’s about another girl, Rachel. She's going to a party this evening and she'll find herself in trouble”  
“Oh okay”  
“Jane, I’m sorry but I need your help”  
“Sure”  
“I need to get to Arcadia Bay” Max gripped her friend’s shoulders to look her in the eyes. “Seriously, no joke I really need your help to get me back to Arcadia Bay!!”  
“Fine, fine!” the girl, Jane nodded her head. “DAAAAAAAAAD!!”  
Footsteps thundered up the stairs. “Jane? Jane!” the door bounced off of the wall and Jane's father stepped through the door. “Jane, what's wrong?”  
“Max needs to get to Arcadia Bay, she has to get back there for a friend's birthday”  
“Yeah sorry, it’s my friend Rachel's birthday and I need to go get back there to get a present and attend her birthday party.” _I can't believe she's actually helping me!_  
“That's a long drive”  
“Pleeeeeease, dad!”  
“Since it is an emergency, let's get going”

Fifteen minutes later, Max, Jane and Jane’s father Arthur were in Arthur's car and leaving for Arcadia Bay. “Thanks for doing this you two”  
“Anytime, Max, you are Jane's friend, just don't make a habit of it”  
“I won't. I promise”  
The rest of the drive passed slowly for Max, she was busy contemplating how best ensure Rachel’s safety. _There's only one option, but I'm scared of the consequences_


	2. Vortex Club

“Well, here we are, Max. Arcadia Bay” Arthur indicated the sign  
“Thank you!!” Max smiled at him, hoping that it wasn't noticeably a forced smile  
“Where do you want to go?”  
“Can you take me to Blackwell Academy please”  
“Sure”  
“It's just up that road” Max indicated the correct road and her anxiety shot even more through the roof the closer the car drove to the Academy. _Shit, shit, shit, stay calm!_ Max quickly tried some of the breathing exercises she had helped Chloe through when they were younger and, to her surprise, found herself calming down

Max gulped and clambered out of the car. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. She had seen a familiar girl entering the pool building, familiar even though she had only ever seen her in photos. “I'll be okay from here, I'm going to stay with a friend for a few days once this party is over, her name is Rachel and I just saw her enter the party”  
“Sure, Max” Arthur smiled and nodded while Jane clambered out of the car and ran after Max, throwing her arms around her friend.  
“I'll see you later, okay, Jane?” _You've been a good friend now it’s time to say goodbye_. “You're the best friend I've ever had.” _Sorry Chloe, but you were more than a friend_  
“Goodbye, Max” Jane soon returned to her father's car and Max wiped a tear away  
_For Chloe_ , Max vowed

Max followed Rachel through the door into the party where, grossed out by the coupling and making out going on around her, she took a deep breath and stepped out on to the poolside and looked around for the familiar feather earring. Not spotting it, she hurried towards the VIP section and took advantage of the distracted bouncers to step inside. “Rachel” she whispered, spotting the earring. She stepped to one side, hiding in the shadows for awhile making awkward conversation with a few of the Vortex Club members whenever forced to. “My name is Max, I'm a new Vortex Club member”  
“Really? A fucking hippie?”  
_Fuck, it’s Victoria_. “Got a problem with it, bitch?!” Max stepped forward into Victoria’s face and glared at her, she felt incredibly satisfied as Victoria took a hasty step back  
“Uh... Oh...”  
“Haha” a musical voice laughed, “Queen Vic's feathers have been ruffled by a newcomer”  
“I just stood up for myself...” _Wonder what the consequences of that'll be?_ Max paused, _Can't imagine it'll matter_  
“Still, I've never seen Queen Vic back off of anyone”  
“Don't get used to it!”  
“Sure, Queen Bitch”  
Max hurried away and spotted a boy spiking a beverage. _Shit, Nathan! Time to move_. She waited until Nathan moved over to Rachel then shoved him accidently. “Shit I'm so sorry!!” Max quickly grabbed the beverage that was spiked and gulped what was left of the alcoholic beverage down before Nathan could react.  
“What the fuck?! You stupid bitch!!” Nathan moved forward to hit her and Max braced herself instead of groveling in apology as she would have done in the past.  
“Easy, Nate. I'll make sure she doesn't ever get into another Vortex Club party” Victoria stepped forward to stop Nathan  
“Okay, Vic” he conceded  
“Not gonna be a problem anyway” Max replied, smirking up at Rachel and taking her hand, “come on let's get you another drink, sorry I don't even know your name.” _Getting better at lying, Max_  
“It's Rachel”  
“Max”  
Rachel gestured, “after you then”

Soon, Max felt incredibly tired as the drugs took effect. “Shit” she mumbled, “I don't feel so good.” A few moments later Max felt a pair of arms around her shoulder and a guy’s voice talking about a hospital. Max knew that wasn't where she was headed. _For Chloe..._ was her last coherent thought before passing out


	3. Mysterious Max

“What the fuck, Nathan?”  
“I'm sorry, sir.”  
“Why the fuck have you brought me a fucking hippie girl? We agreed on Rachel... You are supposed to be modeling with her unless you're suggesting you don't want to model with her anymore?”  
“She drunk the spiked alcohol, sir! I'm sorry I didn't know what else to do”  
“Do you at least know her name?”  
“Max... Max Caulfield, sir”  
“Caulfield? No, this isn't right she isn't supposed to be here yet. She's one of next year's seniors, what the hell is going on?”  
“I'm sorry, sir”  
“I guess for now you'll just have to model with Max Caulfield”  
“But sir...”  
“No buts, Nathan... Now, watch closely”

*****

“Has anyone seen that hippie girl?” Rachel asked outside the Vortex Club party  
“Sorry” one of the many partygoers replied while others merely shrugged  
Rachel pulled out her phone and found a few texts from a number she didn't recognize

 **[SMS: unknown number, 21:01]** 'Stay away from Jefferson and Prescott'  
**[SMS: unknown number, 21:01]** 'They're dangerous and I won't be able to save you again’  
**[SMS: unknown number, 23:48]** 'It was nice to meet you this evening, Rachel'

“What the fuck?!” Rachel clicked through her phone to see if there was anything else from that mystery number. _Those first two texts were sent soon after I arrived at the party._ Finding nothing in her search, she sighed and looked around for the hippie girl some more, even checking the VIP area. _Where the fuck are you, Mysterious Max?_

“Amber” a disdainful and cold voice rung out behind her, clear even over all the noise of the party  
“Chase” Rachel replied, equally as coldly  
“You're looking lost,” Victoria said, her tone flat and uninterested, “lost your new hippie girlfriend, already?”  
“Have you seen her, Chase? Parties didn't really seem to be her scene and she said she wasn’t feeling good, she went outside for some air”  
“Nah, Nathan's taken her to hospital. I didn't want some novice drinker hippie to destroy the Vortex Club by dying thanks to the alcohol we served. Fucking drunkards”  
“Nathan...?” The contents of the unknown SMS made her feel uneasy, “I’d better get going to the hospital then”  
“How exactly do you plan to get there, you and your punk slut aren't exactly best friends anymore”  
“Don't call her that, Vic, she isn't a slut”  
“Yeah, yeah, heard it all before...” Victoria rolled her eyes, “but seriously how do you plan to go to the hospital?”  
“I have an apology to make” Rachel admitted

 **[SMS: 01:01]** 'Where are you? What ward are you on? I'm gonna grab a ride to the hospital'

“Can you excuse me, Chase?” Victoria rolled her eyes and moved away. Rachel moved into the bathroom and sat in one of the stalls as she waited to be connected

A few moments later she was connected, “Rachel Amber” Rachel was involuntarily filled with warmth as soon as she heard the voice on the other end of the line  
“Chloe, I’m so so sorry”  
“Rachel, I'm sorry too. Where are you? It sounds like a Vortex party”  
“Uh huh, I'm sorry, Chloe. I know I promised not to go to anymore”  
“Do you need to come pick you up?” Rachel had to pause for a moment, unsure if she had heard correctly. She knew Chloe was slow to forgive so she was surprised that Chloe was offering to come pick her up.  
“Yes please, can you take me to the hospital? Some girl got totally hammered and left to go to hospital. I can't seem to reach her...” she checked her phone again anxiously but found no response to her earlier text  
“Say no more, Rachel”

 **[SMS: 01:40]** 'Come on, please tell me what ward you're on... I need to know, I'm coming to the hospital. Are you okay? '


	4. Dark Room

“What's the girl’s name?” Chloe asked quietly on the ride to the hospital  
“I don't know” Rachel replied, she thought for a moment then got her phone out intending to show Chloe but the blunette was driving. “I was still pretty drunk so I don't know the cute girl’s name, though I am sure I've never seen her before. I got these texts from an unknown number...” Rachel turned her phone on and looked at the screen, “the messages said ' _Stay away from Jefferson and Prescott_ , they're  _dangerous_ ' and ‘ _I won't be able to save you again_ ’. Weird, huh?”  
“Very weird, Rach...” Chloe looked over at the blonde. “You gonna get out or not?” she asked with amusement. They had pulled up outside the hospital but Rachel had been focused on the dilemma  
“Yeah... Just thinking about how cute that girl was. About a year younger than us, brunette, freckles...” Rachel jumped out of the car and turned to the building behind her

*****

“What the hell! Maxine, you fucked up my shot!!” A camera clicked and Max was filled with dread at where she was, the dark room, the lair of Mark Jefferson. “Don't fucking move! Fucking hell you've fucked up another shot!!”  
“He...” Max groaned, Jefferson and Nathan shared a glance at each other. “J...eff, I'm gonna fucking... Fucking” she pulled weakly against the duct tape against her wrists and ankles in desperation, her words no more than a mumbling jumble that Jefferson hadn't been able to understand. “At least you're not hurting Rachel” Max mumbled somewhat audibly  
_She knows too much..._ Jefferson had been impressed when he saw the young woman's photography in a portfolio she had sent to Blackwell to help her prove she was worth the scholarship she was asking for. “We might as well carry on as if she's Rachel, Nathan, perhaps this will teach you not to be so careless as well.” But now he wasn't impressed, he was concerned. _How does she know that Rachel was my intended target?_  
“Yes, sir.” Nathan looked down at the semi-sedated woman, wondering what was going on in his life. The clicking of the camera was oddly soothing to the sociopathic teen as his Idol and father figure continued dancing around Max eagerly, a predatory grin set firmly on his face. As it was Max was fully dressed, Nathan didn't like to be there when his mentor _really_ immersed himself in his work since he refused to allow things like clothes or dignity get in the way of his _perfect shot_. Nathan, remembering the first time he had sedated one of the girls under the watchful eye of his mentor, cursed quietly under his breath. He just wanted the memories to fuck off

“Nathan?” The man's voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned back around to gaze through the half-light at Jefferson. “She might be a hipster but she's actually kinda cute. I know we have... Different tastes and I'm not even offended by your blatant disgust...”  
_Oh shit!!_ Nathan's fear overwhelmed him and he almost missed what else his mentor had to say  
“Over how I obtain my photographs... The being naked thing clearly isn't for you and I respect that. So this is what we’re gonna do, I'm gonna head off to my afternoon classes while you can do whatever but when I come back she will be losing her clothes”  
“Yes, sir.” _Fuck you! That's the part that makes you sound like a pedo_  
Don't forget to redo the sedation soon.” _If only he saw what I saw, embracing my technique is the best way to express this type of art. Gritty. Real. Minimal._  
“See you later, sir”  
“I told you time and again, Nate, my name is Mark, or Mr. Jefferson if you’re feeling formal.” _I am not, after all your pretentious dick of a father_  
“Mmm....aaaaa...rrrrrr...kkkkkkk” the name was heavily slurred but apparent, it came from the girl led on her side though Nathan seemingly hadn't noticed  
_Oh hell_  
“I'm heading to the bathroom” Nathan mumbled, see ya after class” Nathan had already turned Max's phone off so they wouldn't be interrupted by the buzzing  
Jefferson nodded and pulled out a syringe. _Sedate the girl, Mark_

*****

“So you're saying no young women have been brought in at all for the entirety of your shift?”  
“Sorry, Miss. Price”  
“Fuck. Text her again, Rach”  
“I just did” Rachel’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion  
“Here let me send one!” Rachel threw her phone to Chloe who froze  
“Rach... What the hell?” she pulled out her phone and compared it to a contact on her own phone...


	5. Realization

“Chloe? Chloe, what's wrong?” Rachel looked scared. It wasn't often that Chloe Price was scared but on the rare occasion she was, it made Rachel terrified  
“A-Are... are you sure that's the correct number?” the blunette stuttered  
Rachel nodded an affirmative. “Yeah... Why?”  
“It's Max's number” _What the fuck?!_  
“Max?” Rachel echoed.  _That name sounds familiar_  
“Max Caulfield, my ex-best friend. The traitor”  
“Oh...” _Come on Rachel you can think of something else to say_  
“We have to find her, Rach!!” Chloe was beginning to panic even more if that was even possible  
“I know, Chloe. This is hella bad though” Rachel rested her hand on Chloe's shoulder quietly to show companionship  
“Fuck!! How long has Max been back without telling me?!” Chloe's panic had started to fade into anger at Max  
“She's not in the dorms, you drive the truck I'll phone her parents!”  
“I'll ask my mom and step-douche, if he's there when we get back!” Chloe threw Rachel her phone to copy Ryan and Vanessa's phone numbers. They had already tried Max's phone several times, it had rung the first time then it went straight to answerphone the subsequent times

A terse silence spread throughout the truck as Rachel waited for the call to go through with bated breath. Finally, on the fifth attempt, there was a click. “... Hello?”  
“Finally!!” Rachel exclaimed overly loudly  
“Who is this?” a slightly muffled male voice replied as if the person on the other end was holding the cell phone away from his ear  
“Ryan... Max's father” Chloe muttered helpfully  
With a nod, Rachel turned her attention back to the phone, “Mr. Caulfield, my name's Rachel Amber and I'm a friend of Chloe's”  
“Chloe? Chloe Price?!”  
“Yes”  
“Oh my god!!” Ryan yelped, “what's happened to Chloe?! Max is around a friend's this evening but I can call her and relay a message...?”  
“Mr. Caulfield, I am staring at two strange texts from your daughter, and yes, Chloe was able to verify that it's definitely Max's number.” Rachel fingered a few buttons on her own phone and the texts were forwarded as screenshots to Ryan.  
“What the hell? Rachel, is Chloe there?”  
“Yes, but she's driving, you're on loudspeaker”  
“Hey, Ryan” Chloe called out  
“Chloe, what is this?” Ryan asked, bemused by what seemed to be going on  
“Fuck if I know.” Chloe shrugged even though it wasn't a video call, “Rach was at a Vortex Club party when she received those texts”  
“I got them soon after I arrived at the party, Mr. Caulfield.” Rachel elaborated, “needless to say I didn't read them til much later, I was too busy at the party... I met Max there”  
“What the hell? Max isn't in Arcadia Bay, she's in Seattle” Ryan raised his voice in frustration  
“Nope. She's definitely here” Rachel replied firmly

“Oh hell,” there was a sound as if Ryan had just facepalmed, “now my wife’s phone's ringing. Vanessa!! Can you take that?” There was a muffled shout back then the cell phone went quiet and a faint voice could be heard answering it. “Sorry, Rachel”  
“HOLY SHIT!!” a loud voice shrieked from the other end of the line before Rachel could think of anything to say to persuade Ryan that she wasn't joking around, “RYAN!! RYAN!!”  
“Hold on girls” he spoke to Rachel and Chloe before he called over his shoulder, “yes?”  
“Jane's mom just called, she got home and neither the kids nor Arthur were there!”  
“Fuck!! I have Chloe and a girl called Rachel on the phone here and they’re saying that Max has been sending Rachel weird texts about not trusting Nathan or a Jefferson person”  
“Nathan is in some of my classes” Rachel provided, “and Jefferson is the photography teacher. Your daughter texted me to warn me about them”  
“Vanessa, I'm speaking to Rachel, she's apparently the last person to see Max...” Ryan explained having flicked Rachel on to loudspeaker so Vanessa could hear as well  
“I just got told that Karen, Jane's mom just received a text from Arthur that he and Jane drove...” Vanessa explained  
“I got a text too,” Ryan interrupted, indicating his phone, “apparently Arthur took Max to Arcadia Bay for a friend's birthday party and that she'll stay with a girl called Rachel”  
“I don't even know your daughter, Mr. Caulfield...” Rachel interrupted, “and there's no other Rachels at Blackwell, nor was that party a birthday party. Max didn't even speak to Chloe this evening”  
“What the fuck is going on?!”

***** __

“You know far too much, Maxine. It's such a shame though, you're the epitome of what I searched for, innocence broken into corruption. Now, Maxine, time to go to sleep” a smooth male voice whispered, a voice that made Max want to throw up  
“Nathan...” Max groaned  
“Is too stupid to figure it out, Maxine. Relax, all you'll feel is no a momentary jab in the neck, then nothing, I promise”  
“Please... Please don't” Max yelped suddenly and thrashed against her bindings which broke but it was too late, Jefferson had already left the dark room.


	6. To save a hero

“We have one lead, Mr. Caulfield” Chloe spoke while driving, her own parents and the Ambers had joined the conference call being run off of Chloe's laptop that Rachel was holding.  
“Those texts” Vanessa stated  
“Yup.” Rachel nodded, “Dad, I still don't like you very much...”  
“But since I'm the DA you need my help to find Ms. Caulfield”  
“Yep. Apparently, it's Nathan Prescott and Mark Jefferson who are the culprits behind this, according to the texts. They or at least Nathan seemed to be targeting me”  
“The Prescotts? Why am I not surprised. Somehow they evade justice for every single one of their damn crimes” James Amber was seething with rage  
“And Jefferson, apparently” Rachel interjected  
“And that sick fuck too” Chloe confirmed, “I've always had a bad feeling about him” Rachel blushed but had turned away so Chloe wouldn't see the blush  
_Oh my god, if Max was correct then Jefferson wanted me!! I was nearly banging him!!_  
“I'm in touch with the Arcadia Bay Police Department, gonna order an amber alert for Ms. Caulfield”  
“Thanks for your help, James” _He might be a shitty father but he's quite a good DA_  
“You're welcome, Rachel”

*****

“Gotta dose her again” Nathan mumbled to himself. He moved closer to Max and quickly inserted the needle into the back of her neck, administering the sedative. Max barely groaned, Nathan knew he had dosed her a few minutes early but it was better that he did that than if he waited for her to wake up. _What the hell did Mark mean by Maxine here being a deadly threat?_

*****

“The amber alert has been issued, all Police Departments statewide have been alerted” James Amber returned to the conference call after making a call or two  
“Okay. We’re gonna go looking for her. David, we’re gonna need two guns”  
“No chance” David snapped  
“David, get your head out of the fucking sand already and fucking help us will you!! You're such a prick!!” Chloe was on the verge of ranting  
“Chloe!!” Joyce's reproachful voice echoed out of the laptop  
“No, mom. I'm fucking fed up of this asshole!! Max is in danger and still, he refuses to help me!”  
“Get her the guns, David”  
“But...”  
“Now, David!!” Joyce snapped with finality

*****

“What the hell? Maxine?” there was a slapping noise. “Maxine, wake up, bitch!” A few seconds went by then another slap. “What the hell?!” _What's wrong with her?!_  
Max didn't respond to Nathan’s voice nor the slap though her head lolled loosely on her shoulders


	7. Searching for a friend

Chloe sat with her chin in her hands, just gazing out into the sky from her bedroom in her house, she had barely spoken to anyone for about two months. She had barely slept and eaten less and most of her days were taken up by the search, the search for the so-called best friend that had ghosted her for five years. Nobody, not even Arcadia bay's resident thespian and Chloe's personal angel, Rachel Amber could cheer her up. Rachel had spent at least sixteen hours a day helping Chloe with her investigation, Blackwell had been forced to temporarily suspend its courses thanks to an email sent to the head of security regarding Max's disappearance. The local police and even a few FBI agents had gotten involved, trying to find the missing teen who had vanished, for awhile at least. Ryan and Vanessa had been a damn sight more determined to find their missing daughter than Rachel's parents had been in the original timeline, almost certainly because the Ambers had been estranged in that timeline. Chloe and Rachel were sticking up posters and going door to door, knocking on each and every single door and walking through as much of the woods as they could. One of the first places they visited was the old treehouse that had once upon a time had been Max and Chloe's pirate HQ and the lighthouse which they broke into to search, coming up negative both times. They discovered an abandoned barn and quickly searched through it but left soon after since there was very little evidence Max or anyone else had been there.

Chloe had barely moved as Joyce entered her room, placing a plate of hot food next to her daughter and taking away a plate that had an untouched meal from hours before. “Chloe” Joyce began but her daughter didn't even move her eyes towards the gentle voice, “you gotta eat” the girl just blinked slowly, seemingly unaware that Joyce was even there. “I love you” she whispered, gently kissing Chloe's cheek with a solemn smile. She knew that both Chloe and Rachel had both armed themselves whenever they left the safety of their houses and Joyce was worried, she loved Max like a second daughter but... Chloe was obsessed with finding her. Rachel had spent most of her time searching with Chloe but to no avail. It had been four months since Max had been seen and nobody had found any trace of her, Rachel's relationship with her parents was marginally better but not by much, they had believed her when she told them Max had been missing and had put out amber alerts long before the Caulfields realized how bad the situation was which in turn had improved their relationship with their daughter

*****

Rachel, the only person to whom Chloe had spoken in months, sat in the Two Whales Diner with a glum expression on her face. She knew and wholeheartedly agreed with Joyce, that what Chloe was going through sucked major balls and to make it worse she hadn't even been a faithful girlfriend before the whole thing kicked off. She had cheated with both her teacher, Mark Jefferson and her drug dealer, Frank Bowers. “Fuck...” she hissed, picking up her coffee and drinking it, she had gotten up early again to go see Chloe but had stopped off on her way to rest her aching feet and have a coffee. _Fuck... I must've covered about thirty miles or so since last week and fuck knows how many since the beginning of this thing, I'm surprised Chloe’s still on her feet what with all the cigarettes she smokes_. She gulped down the last of her coffee, _oh well, once more unto the breach_. Rachel stood, left the diner and started walking toward Chloe's house. “It’s been four months, we haven't found a trace of Max and Chloe is getting more and more despondent.” _Will we find her before Chloe kills herself and leaves me all alone?_

One of the part-time waiting staff, Samantha Myers watched Rachel leave before retreating into the back of the diner. “She looks bad, Steph. I'm worried about both of them.”  
“I know... We just gotta keep trying, has Brooke had any luck with her drones?” Samantha shook her head  
“I would've thought that wherever she was she would've escaped by now...? We can't go find her, we gotta be ready to hide her. Unless...” Stephanie Gingrich went pale, “unless the text was a ruse. Unless she never intended to escape alive?”  
“Fuck. Don't say that, Stephanie Kathryn Gingrich!”  
“I... I'm just scared. On the night Rachel almost went missing, she appeared at exactly the right moment to stop it”  
“I know... It’s strange, life is strange for all of us in the bay right now, but we gotta believe she'll come back”  
“I know” Steph sighed, “come on we’d better get back to work”

*****

_This is it. This is my chance._


	8. A new beginning

A photograph of a lonely strawberry blonde girl led on her bed and alone in her room while crying in the fetal position shimmered and changed into a photograph of a strawberry blonde girl led by the side of another girl who hand was holding the strawberry blonde's. They were whispering small comforts to one another

A photograph of the strawberry blonde stood all but alone by a grave with only her mother a short distance away with a girl looking out the back of a car that was driving away caught fire and changed, being replaced by one where the car was no longer driving away and a girl was stood by the strawberry blonde’s side, holding her while she cried

A photograph of a strawberry blonde stood on a train track as a train approached with a hoodie concealing her identity shattered and was replaced by one where the strawberry blonde was sat in a car, looking over at a girl and laughing joyously at Something the girl said

A photograph of a strawberry blonde being cornered by two skeevy guys was replaced by one where the strawberry blonde was with another girl and both skeevy guys were on the floor covering their manhoods while a third girl with blonde hair and a blue feather earring stood laughing behind them

A photograph of a strawberry blonde and a girl with blonde hair and a blue earring sat opposite a dark-skinned man in an office split into two and changed into one where the two girls were laughing over a blunt with a third girl rolling her eyes playfully

A photograph of a thin man with black hair, a goatee and black glasses introducing himself to a class of eager young adults amongst whom was a girl with blonde hair and a blue earring changed into one where a man and a woman duo were dragging the man with black hair out of a basement under a house in Seattle with their tasers in their hands and glowing

A photograph of a blue-haired girl doped up and vulnerable on the floor of a dorm with a blonde male holding a camera stood over her changed into one where the boy was on the ground being kicked by a burly veteran while the blue-haired girl was led away by two girls

A photograph of two girls in a junkyard smoking their way through an entire pack of cigarettes changed into one where the two girls were jumping up and hugging together on a stage brandishing their graduation certificates

A photograph of a girl with a bun lying with absent eyes in a sterile environment changed into one where that girl was sat surrounded by her friends, laughing and enjoying life

A photograph of a blue-haired girl lying bleeding in a bathroom with a blonde boy panicking beside her changed into one where the blue haired girl was stood between a blonde woman and a black-haired burly veteran and all three were grinning widely. In front of them was a brand new RV

*****

“Chloe!” Rachel called out to the girl with blue hair.  
“Rachel!” Chloe ran to Rachel, her long blue hair trailing behind her.  
“Hey, sweetheart. I missed you!!” Chloe led Rachel around the corner of the house where Rachel covered her mouth in shock. Chloe had led Rachel to a large RV that she had purchased only a few hours beforehand. “Chloe... How the... Fuck did you get that?!”  
Chloe smirked happily, “I got it for us. It's partly a graduation present and partly funded by the money I got from Nathan Prescott for what he did to me”  
“Oh, Chloe. Does that mean it's over?”  
“I believe so. Lucky David was around...” Chloe trailed off, without David being there she wouldn't have had such a good outcome. Chloe had been drugged by Nathan while they were in a bar, she had seen a chance to pick Nathan's pocket but it had backfired and ended with Chloe getting drugged and taken back to Nathan's dorm where he started to take pictures of her while she was delirious. Eventually Nathan attempted to take Chloe's clothes off, however, David had broken the door down a few moments after Nathan had managed to get Chloe's top off and began to hit him. Rachel had pulled Chloe out of the room and across to her room.  
“Yeah... Chloe, it’s over now though”  
“Finally...” Chloe had sighed  
“Come on!! Show me that RV!!” Rachel's enthusiasm was as infectious as ever and she was using it to change the subject, her eyes were alight with enthusiasm and Chloe was happy to oblige. Chloe led Rachel up into the RV and straight into the cab. “Chloe... How much did this cost?”  
“Uh... Six hundred grand?” Chloe has whispered the amount, not sure how Rachel would take the news  
“Holy fuck!!”  
“Yeah...”  
“Chloe... That's almost all of the money you got from the Prescotts for what happened”  
“I know, but it's worth it, it’s our future” Chloe spoke quietly but firmly. She had gotten six hundred grand for what Nathan had done and Joyce and David had put aside a total of fifty grand to reward Chloe for successfully graduating high school. It had been touch and go for awhile after all  
“Fine, Chloe. You've been planning this for awhile?”  
“Yup. Since graduation” Chloe confirmed. She led Rachel back through a door into the main body of the RV. First, they came to the open plan living and kitchen area where there was a comfortable couch and a large plasma TV. A little further back was the well-stocked kitchen area and further back was the bathroom equipped with a shower and bathtub and right at the back were two bedrooms.  
“Holy shit... Babe, this is awesome” Rachel kissed Chloe's cheek, they had been girlfriends for over a year and they were, finally, happy.

Rachel spent another twenty minutes looking around the RV before she rejoined Chloe on the couch. “Chloe...?” She asked in a gentle tone. She had noticed Chloe's graduation certificate but not her admission confirmation letter for an IT degree at the University of Southern California, only one of which was displayed up on the wall. Chloe had hidden the latter so she could surprise Rachel with the news  
“Yes, Rach?”  
“What’s the plan?”  
“Well, we’re heading to LA”  
“Really, Chloe?!” Rachel almost fell off the couch in excitement. She hadn’t been expecting Chloe to suggest it even after she saw the RV, going to Los Angeles was her dream and Chloe was doing everything she could to make it a reality.  
“Yes, Rach. Really. We’re leaving tomorrow”  
“We are?”  
“Yes,” Chloe reached out to pull Rach in close. “After the End of the World party tonight”  
“Oh, yeah, wouldn't want to miss that” Chloe and Rachel had volunteered to help Blackwell's transition to a new principal since Raymond Wells had been implicated in covering up Nathan Prescott's crimes and instability, they had both agreed to help out with the Vortex Club’s final party before it was disbanded permanently. Chloe had not always been a model student since she was a user of marijuana but she had always kept her grades high enough to secure her 4.0 GPA.  
“It'll be an awesome last night in this shithole and at Blackhell


	9. Graveside

“You know, last night's party was awesome?” Chloe turned to look at her girlfriend, her soulmate with a gentle smile on her lips, one she reserved solely for Chloe  
“Hell yeah it was, nice to see Vicky shaking her booty for once, Rach. She's nothing compared to you though, obviously” Chloe replied, guffawing with laughter at Victoria's expense, she had gotten incredibly drunk at the party and had actually started dancing drunkenly. _That was so fucking funny_. “I never normally liked those pretentious parties those snobbish rich pricks throw, but without Nathan there or the influence of the Prescotts it was actually a good party. Everyone was even watching out for one another after the revelations about Nathan and the sick shit he was into”  
“Yeah, Rachel and Chloe. Love at first sight” Rachel commented with a small snicker at the blunette’s comments about Victoria, Chloe still didn't like her very much. As a friend of Nathan's, Victoria was tainted  
“Not at first sight” Chloe corrected  
“Well, fuck. Love at the first time I really saw you for who you really were, at the Firewalk gig” Rachel smiled, remembering that night  
Not one to look back too far in fear of triggering some half-forgotten emotional pain, Chloe changed the subject. “I can't believe I persuaded the DJ to let me control the music at the End of the World party”  
“Yeah, Chlo. Everyone was so pissed they didn't really care that you put Obstacles by Syd Matters on, _twice_!”  
“I've never really understood why I've always had a soft spot for that song” Chloe mused in confusion, she hadn’t ever worked out why she had liked that song, Are You Ready For Me by Firewalk was more her style  
“I get it, I really do”  
“I mean I never really heard it til I started listening to the radio at the junkyard” Chloe admitted  
Rachel spluttered for a few seconds before she could find the words to express the surprise she was feeling. “Wait, what?! I always thought it was a song from your childhood, Chlo”  
“Nope. Well come on, we'd better get going, we gotta visit dad before we see David before we pick my best friend up on our way out of this hick shithole”  
“I still can't believe that you stopped calling David the step-douche” Rachel mused with a nostalgic look on her face. _Still think stepladder was funnier_  
“Ever since the thing with Nathan...” Chloe gulped, “if David hadn't seen I don't know what Nathan could've done. I was with it, just barely and he was ‘helping’ me to his dorm.” Chloe hadn't ever told Rachel that Nathan had managed to get her back to her room and was taking photographs at the time David had discovered her, she didn't want Rachel burning the entire penitentiary to the ground which for her was perfectly possible  
“Chloe, that fucker spent a week in a coma from what David did to him and now him and his father, as well as Raymond Wells are behind bars”  
“I know, Rach”  
“Come on you, let's get to the cemetery” Rachel reminded Chloe who started up the RV. They had been sitting in the RV for about twenty minutes before Rachel reminded Chloe what they had planned to do

The girls arrived outside the cemetery, parking up their huge RV next to a beat-up RV. “Fuck, what d'ya suppose Frank is doing here?” Chloe asked, her eyebrows having risen in surprise  
“I have no idea, though he and mom had gotten close” Rachel whispered  
“We’re here, we can visit Sera if you'd like”  
“Yeah, I think I'd like that” Rachel nodded. Sera, Rachel's biological mother had died of an overdose soon after Damon Merrick had dosed her and the grieving Rachel had turned to the one person she could trust; Chloe  
“Come on then. First up, Sera” Chloe spoke in a gentle loving tone that she only used for Rachel and her best friend as she opened the RV door and jumped down with Rachel following at a more casual pace.

“I miss her so much” a man whispered to his wife as they passed Chloe and Rachel with a small nod from the girls, which was intended to acknowledge the older pairs’ pain at their loss. “I'm glad we managed to tie up the Jefferson case before the first anniversary this year though...”  
“I know, sweetie, me too. As for her, she's in a better place now, I promise. You know that God will look after her”  
“ _God_ was the one who took her from us” the man countered. “As well as having put Jefferson on the planet to do all his sicko photography”  
“Sweetie, let's not fight, not now... It's the eighteenth anniversary”  
“I know”  
“Besides, nobody ever figured out what actually happened. Nobody figured out how it happened”  
“How a beautiful healthy girl suddenly...” the man stopped speaking, looking behind him at the two girls who had their hands intertwined  
“Not today! We're going out to celebrate life, not just death” the wife whispered  
“Of course”

By the time the couple had faded from earshot, Rachel was stood by the grave of her biological mother. “Hey, mom...” Chloe meanwhile had retreated a short distance to give Rachel some privacy and had sat on a gravestone, her eyes roaming the graveyard until she spotted a fresh bunch of flowers and a teddy by a grave. She moved toward it, intrigued while Rachel spoke to her mom  
“Is this the grave that couple just visited?” Chloe asked herself while standing awkwardly in front of it, the name was faded beyond recognition but the date of death was still visible. _Hmm_. Neither girl had run into Frank Bowers at Sera’s graveside which was something they were both grateful for

“What you looking at, Chlo?” Rachel had snuck up behind her, her blue hair acting as a beacon that allowed Rachel to find her within seconds even in places like the Vortex Club parties. Chloe hadn't even realized she'd spent a bit of time standing in front of the grave of some random person  
“I think those two we saw on the way in were visiting this grave”  
“The two that were somehow involved in the Jefferson case? Hm perhaps, they did say this person died today, eighteen years ago and that matches up on that gravestone” Rachel pondered  
“How sad, this person, girl, woman. Well, she’d be a woman now at least, she only lived for three weeks”  
“That's awful. Were they her parents?”  
“I have no idea, Rach, but it would make sense”

A few moments later after trying and failing to determine the name on the gravestone the duo made their way back to William’s grave via Sera’s since Chloe wanted to apologize to Sera for failing to save her again. All too soon, Chloe was stood in front of her father's grave, trying to work out what to say to him. “Hi, dad...”

*****

“Mr. Jefferson, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened, it was time to give her another dose but she doesn't... Doesn't... Fuck it, I'm calling an ambulance!!”  
“Nathan, don't be stupid. Calm the fuck down”  
“No, I never wanted this...”  
“She's probably still alive, let me come and see, I just left Blackwell and I'll be there soon, okay?”  
“Okay” Nathan replied in a tiny weak voice


	10. Farewell

“So dad, today we’re finally leaning Arcadia Bay!! I know, it’s been a long five years but without my girlfriend, Rachel and my best friend, I wouldn't have ever made it this far!! Prescott ended up having to give me compensation for what Nathan did to me. Six hundred grand and that's only the beginning, I can probably persuade the courts to compel him to pay for the education his son almost took from me. I'm using your camera too, would you believe it?!” Chloe grinned at her father’s grave. “I just woke up one morning, picked it up, took one selfie then never looked back!!” she chuckled contentedly, gazing over at Rachel with a huge dopey grin on her face.  
“You're a dork, Chloe!” Rachel rubbed her thumb over Chloe's hand gently with an equally brilliant grin on her own features  
“I'm your dork”  
“Forever.”  
“I can't believe I survived all those years of my life without you!” Chloe whispered sadly  
“Sixteen years is such a long time to be without the amazing Chloe Price”  
“Aw, come on, Rach. I'm not a fucking Circus act”  
“Nah, that's me, correct?” Rachel snickered to herself  
“Rach, you're awesome, like Korra”  
“I'm not an earthbender” Rachel protested though there was a hint of sadness to her voice  
“Details, details, Amber”  
“You're right. I am as awesome as Korra. A real-life three-fourths avatar”  
Chloe rolled her eyes, “See what I gotta put up with, dad?”  
“You love it really, Mrs. _Amber_ ”  
Chloe spluttered for a second but managed to recover quickly, “jumping the gun there a little, eh? Mrs. _Price_ ”  
“No fucking way, Chloe Amber sounds better than Rachel Price”  
“Hmph”  
“Though having said that I've always hoped to be a Price, one day” Rachel admitted quietly in a vulnerable voice Chloe was still unfamiliar with. The last time Rachel had sounded that vulnerable was when her world fell apart when Chloe revealed to Rachel just how far her father had been willing to go to keep Rachel from her mother  
“Rach...” Chloe turned to her best friend and embraced her  
“I-I'm okay, Chloe.”  
“Sorry, dad. I came here to say that this won't be the end, the dynamic Amberprice duo is here to stay.” Rachel chuckled and hugged Chloe. “Well, we'd better be on our way back to our RV. Watch over my girlfriend and best friend, dad, okay?”

Rachel led Chloe down the path back toward the entrance to the cemetery, smiling despite everything. “I wonder what the name of that young child was?” she asked. _Why am I so interested in this?_  
“I dunno, the parents never said the girl’s name and it looked like she has been gone for awhile, half the writing was faded” Chloe sighed, “those poor parents” Rachel nodded  
“We can look it up once we get on the road” Chloe suggested and Rachel nodded again

Chloe pulled the RV up outside her house, leaped out and ran up to the door as it opened. Joyce stood in the doorway, a huge breaking smile on her face as she hugged her blue-haired daughter. “Chloe!! I'm so proud of ya!!” Chloe smiled genuinely and held her mother tightly  
“Chloe!!! How's my girl?!” The burly veteran David asked his step-daughter  
“Hey, David” Chloe smirked at him  
“You all ready to go?” he asked with a bit of a frown on his face  
“Sure, David. We're all ready to go”  
“Then come on in, your mother has prepared lunch” Chloe's mouth fell open  
“What, you think we would let all y'all go without a proper goodbye?”  
“T-thanks, mom”  
Joyce moved forward to give both her girls a kiss. “when are you picking your best friend up?”  
“A little later. We're going by her house to pick her up. She hasn’t seen our RV yet”  
“Her father doesn't mind?”  
“She’s as old as us, I doubt he gets anymore say than you do”  
“Mmm, I guess not”

“Food’s ready!!!” Joyce called and David left his chair to help her move the food to the table. For awhile there was no noise other than the clink of cutlery against plates and appreciative grunts and groans from Chloe and Rachel. Once the food was all gone and David had taken the dishes into the kitchen the conversation resumed. “So Rachel, are you looking forward to going on the road trip?”  
“Of course! I've always wanted to go to LA!!” Rachel exclaimed excitedly  
“Chloe already told you?”  
“Of course”  
“And about her offer?”  
“What offer, Chloe?”  
“MOM!!” Chloe protested  
“What offer, Chloe?” Rachel repeated  
“My offer for an IT degree at the University of Southern California”  
“CHLOE!! I'M SO FUCKING PROUD OF YOU!!” Rachel leaped up on to Chloe and wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck

Fifteen minutes of idle chat later, Chloe and Rachel were preparing to leave the Price household. “Well, I guess it's goodbye, for now, Chloe”  
“Mom...”  
“No, Chloe, it's okay. This is your dream. Go get on with your life”  
“Mom... I love you” Chloe whispered  
“I love ya too, Chloe. And you too, Rachel of course”  
“I love you too, Joyce” Rachel curled into Joyce some and Chloe wrapped her arms around both her mother and her girlfriend  
“Good luck, Chloe. Drive safe”  
“Thanks, dad” Chloe replied in a quiet vulnerable voice  
David couldn't reply since he was overcome with emotions until Chloe and Rachel left. He hugged both girls tightly then it was time to go. Joyce wiped her eyes and David pulled her into a hug

Chloe drove the RV to her best friend’s house. “There she is!” Rachel pointed at Chloe's best friend. She was already waiting by the road with all her bags  
“Hey!!” Chloe pulled up next to the awestruck girl who was wearing a comfortable hoodie. “Ready for LA?”  
“Hey” she replied with a nod to the blunette’s question, the RV door had opened and Chloe stepped out to help her load her belongings. She lowered the hood on her hoodie revealing her face to the girls. Both the girls that emerged from the RV ran forward to hug her


	11. Three weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel, Chloe and their best friend start their journey to LA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's chapter eleven... Hopefully it'll answer a few questions

“Steph!! Are you ready to go?” Chloe asked, bounding down the steps of the RV and throwing her arms around her childhood best friend. She was remembering what it was like to have someone by her side the whole time she was grieving for her father. _I wouldn't have ever made it without you, Steph..._  
“Hell yeah!! Chloe, you are and always will be my best friend” the beanie-wearing auburn-haired girl wrapped her arms around the blunette in reciprocation of the simple act of sharing their sibling love  
“Hey, what about me?” the blonde girl pouted at being left out  
“Sorry, Rach.” Steph moved over to the other girl and wrapped her up in a hug too, “you're my other best friend” _I'll always love Chloe as a sister though and she's my best friend, sorry_  
“Good enough, I guess...” the pouting blonde mumbled in mock frustration.  
“You're my girlfriend” Chloe whispered into the blonde’s ear. Rachel let out a satisfied noise and nuzzled the taller blunette’s shoulder

“Chloe... What the eff?” Steph’s eyes fell on the RV and her mouth fell open. “How the fuck...?”  
“Prescott” was all Chloe had to reply for Steph to understand.  
Steph changed the subject abruptly, “are you ready to get going, ladies?”  
“Yep. Steph, Rachel has some research to do while I drive, you can help her or do coffees, up to you”  
“I'll do both” Steph clambered up the steps into the RV for the inaugural tour of the place while Chloe started loading her belongings into the RV. 

Ten minutes later Chloe pulled away to begin the long drive to Los Angeles. “Well, ladies let's blow this joint and say goodbye to the shithole that is Arcadia Bay. For a very long time.”  
Rachel, already pouring over the laptop researching what they had overheard earlier paused what she was doing and joined Steph by the window as they passed the come again sign, scoffing at it. “I don't plan to return here ever again” she muttered then closed her mouth, opting to share the companionable silence the other two already had going, the three girls remained silent as they ventured out of Arcadia Bay for the last time, starting the thirteen hundred mile journey to Los Angeles. 

“Hm, not much on here regarding the Jefferson case” Rachel grumbled, looking at a Google search page, “It must be some kind of ongoing investigation” Chloe suggested, while Steph peered over the blonde’s shoulder  
“Jefferson? Isn't he the creep who was arrested for kidnapping girls and taking kinky photographs of them” Steph inquired gently. “The one who was going to teach at Blackwell?”  
“Yup” Chloe nodded, her voice drifting back  
“Why are you suddenly interested in him?”  
“Oh, we’re not interested in him per se, we’re trying to work out what happened to someone buried in the cemetery. Her parents were involved in the Jefferson case” Rachel explained. She had already found the newspaper detailing the circumstances of the arrest, albeit vaguely. “Two senior detectives made the first in a series of arrests linked to the ongoing case in Seattle and across Oregon” she pulled up another website. “Chloe? Chloe! I think I’m on to something!” She called, pausing in what she was doing for long enough to thank Steph for the coffee she had just made for her. She printed the page she was looking at and moved to show Chloe. 

“Think these are our mysterious visitors?” Rachel held up the printed webpage, one of the Seattle Police Department website listing their regular officers and detectives  
“Rach, that's them!!” Chloe exclaimed  
“Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield...” Rachel began reading from the bio she had pulled up. “Husband-wife pair. They moved to Seattle after the tragic death of their daughter and became a very effective crime-fighting duo”  
“Their daughter...? You think she's the one?” Chloe asked quietly, “wonder if one of us knew her?”  
“Must be” Rachel was already tapping away, trying to identify the girl. “And I doubt it, Chloe.” Rachel shook her head. “Here it is!! Maxine Caulfield! September 21, 1995, to October 12, 1995, an Arcadia Bay resident...”  
“Those poor parents...” Chloe mumbled, looking at a photograph of a very happy looking baby who was only a week or two at most and playing with some stuffed toys. “Even I can't imagine how awful it must be for them...” Chloe parked up the RV in a parking lot that was just off the US-101, the highway they were driving down. She turned to face her best friend and girlfriend with tears running down her cheeks. “If only we'd have known...”  
“Chloe, there's not much we could do” Rachel pulled the distraught blunette into a hug on their couch. They hadn't driven that far, had barely made a twenty-mile dent in their long journey but Chloe needed time to calm down.  
“We have to try... Rach, please?”  
“Okay... Once we're settled in LA we’ll see what we can do” Rachel promised  
“Thank you, my love” Chloe kissed her quickly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Max...


	12. The lake

“Well, I guess this is a nicer place as any to stop for the night” Chloe announced as the girls passed a lake. It was getting later and the sun was starting to set  
“This place is fucking incredible, Chloe!!” Rachel looked out of the front of the RV and observed how the setting sun shone off the lake they were driving past  
“I'm glad you think so, Steph?”  
“I'm just glad you've been my best friend for all these years”  
“You know that you were my rock after my father died. If I'd lost you as well, I don't think I'd have ever made it”  
“Sure you would've, Chloe. Very few people are as strong-willed as you”  
“Thanks, Steph” for the first time ever, Chloe's believed it

Chloe leaped out of the RV as soon as it stopped, grabbing her father's old camera and snapping a shot of the sun reflecting off of the lake. “That’s beautiful, Chloe” Rachel whispered having peeked over Chloe's shoulder to gain the first glimpse of the Polaroid as it developed. Chloe was an IT major but spent her free time drawing, taking photographs and painting. Her true passion was drawing and she had already applied for jobs at several tattoo studios and was debating sending some of her Polaroids off to a gallery.  
“Thanks, Rach. I love you, babe”  
“I love you too, Chlo”  
“You two want beer?” Steph's slightly muffled voice called out to them  
“No thanks, Steph”  
“I'll have one. You know my girlfriend can't have any alcohol, she's in remission”  
“I know, two beers it is, I only purchased them to celebrate leaving Arcadia Bay behind”  
“We know, Steph. We know you wouldn't put anyone's life in danger”  
“I just have one question, how are we gonna get through being students without being exposed to alcohol? We are going to college for _four_ years”  
“We’ll work it out, Steph”  
“I know we will. It's just gonna be harder to deal with it”  
“Girls, calm your tits! I'm not gonna relapse just cos alcohol will be freely available!”  
“Hmm”  
“I'm not, girls! Come on where's that girlfriend-girlfriend trust?”  
“We’ve been here before, babe. That Vortex party where I had to rush you to the hospital due to those drugs you took”  
“Thanks for telling Steph...!”  
“Who do you think helped drag your unconscious yet beautiful ass to the truck?” Steph replied incredulously  
“Oh, right.”  
“Kate found you slumped in the bathroom, she came to me and was babbling on about you being in the bathroom. I almost told Kate to take a valium but... She was so distraught I heeded her warning”  
“Well if you hadn’t I wouldn't be alive today”  
“I know, my beautiful girl” Chloe and Rachel hugged and kissed each other

A few moments later, Steph cleared her throat. “I hope you two lovely ladies don't mind but I'm going to get started on our dinners. Chloe, you've been driving all day so let me handle the food”  
“Sure, _Stephanie_ ”  
“Don't call me that, Chloe _Elizabeth_ ”  
“Fuck off”  
“Nah, you...!” Steph turned around and mock glared at Chloe over her shoulder before retreating into the RV, setting out a beer with a verbal warning. “Don't touch this beer” she was glaring at the former alcoholic junkie who nodded from where she was building the campfire. “And Chloe?” The blunette hummed an assent from by the campfire she was building, “resist the urge”  
“Whatthefuckever” Chloe rolled her eyes playfully


	13. Emergency

“Chhhhhhloe?” Rachel looked over at the other girl from where she stood in the doorway to their bedroom  
“Ohshit!!” Chloe jumped out of bed and rushed to the door, to Rachel's side, immediately alert thanks to Rachel's slurring. “Steph!! Steph!!”  
“Yeah?” Steph’s mumbled muffled grunt came from the other bedroom, Chloe didn't feel at all guilty at waking Steph up, not under those circumstances  
“Help!!”

There was a thud, muffled swear words and then the door to the other room opened, Steph was stood in the doorway in her pajamas. “It’s three in the fuckin’ morning, Chloe!” Steph grumbled  
“I know, Rachel's drunk, again”  
Steph sighed. “I told you locking up the booze wouldn't be enough...”  
“I'm sorry Steph” Chloe apologized quickly, she had always had a problem with apologizing but she has grown up a lot from the moody teen punk who had almost ended up being expelled from one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Chloe looked over at the broken remains of the cupboard in which Chloe and Steph had locked their booze away, Rachel had known she wasn't supposed to go anywhere near that cupboard and yet she hadn’t really hesitated in breaking it to get at the booze. Upon closer inspection, Chloe realized Rachel's eyes were badly dilated  
“Apology accepted, Chloe. There was...”  
“Steph, I'm sorry, just shut up for a second” Steph closed her mouth as soon as she was interrupted by Chloe, not an uncommon occurrence but the panic in her voice resulted in a worried frown instantly crossing her features instead of the customary snarky retaliatory comment  
“Chloe?”

“Rachel!” Chloe snapped, Steph shooting Chloe a reproachful glare at the harshness in her voice  
“Chloe... She's drunk. Relapse is part of recovery” Steph scolded  
“That’s not all, Steph” Chloe replied gravely, turning back to Rachel. “Rachel, where. Is. It?!” she snapped, no longer calm  
“W-where’s what?” Rachel attempted to counter but her stutter gave it away  
“Chloe, what's going on?'  
“Rachel is high”  
“Fuck... Rachel...” Steph sighed, understanding why Chloe had been unusually sharp with Rachel  
“I-I didn't... I-I’m not high” Rachel whimpered, looking away to hide how dilated her eyes were  
“What did you take, how much of it, how much did it cost and where did you get it?!”

After several minutes of intense tension, Rachel hung her head. “Four lines of coke... The rest is hidden in my suitcase and... I-I spent a hundred thirty bucks on it. I hid it back in Arcadia and picked it up before we left”  
“Rachel!!!” Steph exclaimed while covering her mouth in shock, the disappointment clearly visible in her eyes. “You were getting better!!”  
“I-I also took meth” Rachel almost whispered  
“What?!?!”  
“Rachel that's incredibly dangerous!!” Steph had sprinted back to her friends. “Chloe, you know the drill”  
“Sure Steph...” Chloe sighed, pulling her phone. _I only came up with the damn plan_. “This was supposed to be our fresh start...” she mumbled, trying to hide how hard it was not to cry. Raising her voice, she replied to Steph. “I know what I need to do”

“Nine-one-one operator. What is your emergency?” the voice on the other end of the phone answered, Chloe took a deep breath while holding Rachel tightly as she shook from the drugs

Meanwhile, Steph was on her own cell calling a different number, “California poison control. If this is an emergency call nine-one-one immediately”  
“Fuck. I hate this”

“Rachel!! Rachel!! She collapsed, we need help, now!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh yeah... Sorry Rachel. 
> 
> Kinda realized how hella fucked up Rachel would be by spending all that time with Frank... No sex though, not in this timeline, since Chloe and Rachel were supposed to be (mostly) fixed by Max's sacrifice


	14. Hospital

“Steph? How is she?” Chloe had returned from her bathroom break and cafe run, Rachel had been rushed to hospital by ambulance with Chloe in the back with Rachel and Steph following along behind in the RV. Chloe handed Steph her latte and sighed as she sat down on the floor next to the wall in Rachel's hospital room.  
“Still asleep. Chloe, we have to talk about this” The auburn-haired girl waved her hands around, first indicating the young woman who was still fast asleep in the hospital bed then at the room at large. The blonde was slowly recovering from her latest overdose but it was slow going. Whenever she woke she was still pretty out of it.  
“I know, Steph” Chloe replied in a low voice  
“We can't keep doing this” Steph sighed, “whenever we think this is finally under control she gets tempted and relapses. We both have college courses waiting for us in LA and we’re simply not gonna be there for most of the day”  
“Fuck... You're right.” Chloe sighed, “We gotta make sure she stays clean. My IT course looks pretty heavy and your graphics design course doesn't look much better”  
“We have two choices.” Steph declared. “One, either admit her to rehab, or two get someone to look after her”  
“Shit” Chloe grumbled quietly. “It's not even as if I can ask mom and dad for help, they've been helping Rachel for a long ass time and I can't demand even more of their time for it, not anymore. Rachel’s parents, they're partly why we’re in this mess in the first place, they might even try to kill her like they attempted to kill Sera, you know, family disappointment and all”  
“I know, Chloe, it's not ideal.” Steph had a suspicion of how the conversation would end. Either Chloe would cancel her place at the University of Southern California or Rachel would be going into rehab. Steph decided there and then that the former would not be an option. No matter how much Chloe loved Rachel, Steph would not let her best friend of fifteen years screw her future up, not even for Rachel.

“Let’s run through our options here. Drew”  
_Of course, Chloe won't just accept it as being a hopeless case where Rachel needs to go into rehab..._ “Off on his scholarship, playing football and not exactly the most sensitive person around.” _Okay, I guess I'm gonna play this Chloe's way, maybe I will have missed something?_ “Taylor”  
“Studying her art, drawing I think. Courtney”  
“Ugh.” Steph wrinkled her nose, she really did not like the black haired bitch. “Off being someone else's lackey after Vic cut her loose for bullying, as well as a fashion degree”  
“And totally unsuitable” Chloe scoffed  
“Mhm. Mikey” Steph put the name forward despite knowing that he wouldn’t be an option  
“Too young. Vic”  
“Fuck me...” Chloe had a small smile on her lips as she thought about the reformed Victoria, renamed Vic, that everyone had had the privilege of getting to know at Blackwell. “I would trust her to do it, if she wasn't off studying photography and law at UCLA...” Victoria had changed a lot in their time they were at Blackwell, she had gone from an Ice Queen to someone who was a genuine friend to most of the people in Blackwell, even Rachel whom she had despised and loathed at first but Chloe along with Steph and Taylor had eventually cracked the Ice Queen’s shell and teased out the true Victoria. While she still acted ruthless and cold in Seattle while her parents were nearby, she relaxed and became an entirely different person while at Blackwell, save from times of intense stress such as finals when she became Queen Bitch. “Fucking show off...” Chloe finished by mumbling  
“Her parents push her too hard, she's gonna crash and burn” Steph replied, both of them knew that, although single-minded and driven, her heartlessness came from her parents in the way they behaved toward her. Cold and careless unless she did something particularly noteworthy which they awarded with affection and rewards  
“You’re probably right there.” Chloe acknowledged. _Then we'll have two broken friends to take care of..._ “Evan”  
“Nah, pretentious prick. Rachel would end up murdering him” Steph shook her head, they were running out of options  
“El... Forget it” Chloe cut herself off and chuckled  
“Eliot, seriously?!” Steph choked on an involuntary laugh. “We would've rolled a one to end up with him”  
“Yeah... Thought we could do with a laugh” Chloe replied, still chuckling  
“Mhm... Kate?” Steph’s voice lilted at the end in anticipation  
“You might be on to something there...” Chloe smiled genuinely, Kate was one of the highlights of their life. The former Christian was the kindest and purest young woman they had ever met  
“But... She should have her own life” Steph shot her own suggestion down in flames  
“She's taking a year or two off to focus on writing her books” Chloe reminded her  
“So she could keep an eye on Rachel while writing?” Steph finished the sentence, the two friends were so in tune with one another that they could finish each others’ sentences in a weird twin telepathy type way  
“Exactly!!”  
“It's worth asking at least...” _I guess... Admittedly, we would be rolling a twenty_


	15. Skype call

“Chloe Elizabeth Price” the voice of Kate Marsh echoed out of the laptop's speaker, instantly soothing the terrified blunette. Chloe and Steph had retreated to the RV to make the Skype call, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”  
“Fuck, Katie, I wish you'd never found out my full name” Chloe grumbled in mock annoyance  
“You love it really” Kate replied, and Chloe did, she just wouldn't admit it. The sweet Kate was the only person who was allowed to call her by her full name, mainly because Chloe didn't want to upset the blonde. Kate ignored the swearing, when you spent a few years with Chloe as a friend, one kinda became numb to the torrent of swears and Kate had been Chloe's friend for a lot longer than just a few years  
“Anyway, Katie. Steph and I have been talking...”  
“Oh wow, Chloe. You've settled into that RV so well, it looks like a tip” Kate quipped, she had changed so much from the _prude_ the two friends had found alone in their first few days of seventh grade. Kate had just moved up to their middle school, Bay Middle School from Arcadia Elementary and was in her first year there when she had met Chloe and Steph, seventh graders who took her in and protected her from the bullies that wanted to target Kate for both being kind enough to forgive them and for being a overly religious girl. Having been exposed to Chloe Price, Kate had morphed from the girl who was quiet and shy even around her friends, to a girl who was more than happy to tease and even insult her friends.  
“Fuck you” Chloe replied but with a huge grin. It was true, Chloe was a slob and even she knew it.  
“Wait why are you parked outside a hospital?” Suddenly Kate was leaning forward a concerned look in her eyes as she rubbed her wrists anxiously. Chloe hadn't realized but the word 'hospital’ was visible through the RV window. “Chloe, what's happened?! Is Steph okay?” Kate’s voice broke through the silence once again  
“I'm here, Katie” Steph replied before Kate could continue  
“Then Rachel must be... Or is it Max? Has our mutual friend gotten herself into trouble again?” Kate asked, worrying her lip  
_Max? What the fuck, Katie?_  
“Chloe?” Kate spoke up again when Chloe didn't reply to Kate's question  
“Who's Max?” Chloe asked, looking at Kate then at Steph and finally back at Kate again  
“I... Have no idea” Kate admitted, both the auburn-haired girl and the blonde were just as confused as the blunette

“Anyway,” Chloe felt distinctly uncomfortable all of a sudden, the mention of Max caused her skin to crawl. “Rachel is back in hospital”  
“Oh no!!” Kate covered her mouth in horror. “What can I do to help?!”  
“Well, we have our courses starting in a few months and we...”  
“You need someone to keep Rachel clean while the two of you go to college?” Kate interrupted, another thing the old Kate wouldn't have ever done  
“Yep. That's right. We're gonna be fine until the new semester but after that...”  
“I graduate in a few months” Kate acknowledged. It was more like seven months but that wasn't really important in the grand scheme of things. Chloe and Steph knew that anyway since they had almost eleven months before _they_ had to go back to classes  
“We know.”  
“You don't have to be scared, you can ask me to move to LA a few years early. I hope to get a degree in literature there eventually, maybe become a teacher”  
“You seriously don't mind coming to babysit Rachel?” Even Chloe was taken aback by how generous their Christian friend was  
“I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't, Chloe Elizabeth”  
“Thank you so much, Katie!!” Chloe had to admit it was a huge weight off of her shoulders, to know Kate would be taking care of the feisty and self-destructive blonde made her feel lighter than she had in ages. _I love you, Katie, in a platonic sense of course_

Chloe and Steph finished up with their Skype call to Kate then sat back on the couch. “Kate's a miracle isn't she?” The auburn-haired girl stated to the blunette. She phrased it as a question but it was more a statement of undeniable fact  
“She sure is, Steph” Chloe reached out for her best friend and shuddered slightly. Steph, ever the open-minded loving person, wrapped her arms around her bestest friend and held her tighter than ever before. She knew how hard it was in Chloe to see her girlfriend slipping back like she was and she knew all she could do was provide the support that her best friend would need. “I’m... Scared, Steph. Scared that I’ll lose Rach”  
“I know, Chloe”  
“I also had a minor freak out when Kate mentioned that Max girl”  
_Oh yeah, that happened._ “Why?”  
“The way Kate spoke, it made it sound like I was supposed to _know_ her, Steph!! Like I was _supposed_ to know this Max girl...”


	16. Mercy

“Ms. Price?” An older dark-haired woman had entered Rachel's room to speak to the punk about her girlfriend  
“That's me!!” The blunette-blonde exclaimed, turning around to appraise the woman with her eye  
“You're Ms. Amber's girlfriend?” The woman inquired gently  
“Sure am!” Chloe proclaimed proudly, neither girl made any effort to hide their relationship and whenever a man came up to Rachel to hit on her, Chloe and Rachel would always make a show of making out to make it clear they weren't interested _and_ otherwise engaged  
“You are her only family?” The newcomer had a slight air of disbelief at that's fact, not really believing that a nineteen-year-old woman’s only family was another nineteen-year-old woman who wasn’t even related to her by blood  
“Uh huh, her mom's dead, her father is a jailed dangerous _asshole_ and her step mom disowned her when she started using.” Chloe droned in a monotone voice, she had gotten so fed up of repeating the same old refrain every time Rachel landed herself in hospital which had been almost a bimonthly occurrence at its best and a weekly occurrence at its worst. Rachel had been four months clean when she had relapsed on their way to LA, Chloe had attempted to minimize the stress that her blonde soulmate went through but there was only so much she could do, especially with the Prescott family as her sworn enemies  
“I'm sorry to hear that” The woman mumbled her condolences, though from her it sounded more a societal necessity than a heartfelt comment  
“It is what it is, we just try to deal with it the best we can” Chloe shrugged, her air of nonchalance a shield for how much it hurt her to see her blonde soulmate hurting so badly. Something had warned her not to appear vulnerable in front of the woman  
“I see, and you're her... Girlfriend?”  
“Uh huh” _I just told you that..._  
The woman stood before the tall blonde-blunette nodded slowly, “Well, Ms. Amber will be under my care for the duration of her stay here in Mercy General Hospital. I'm Doctor Starr”  
“Nice to meet ya” Chloe held out her hand for the doctor to shake  
The doctor took Chloe's hand. “Can we talk in private?”  
“Anything you say to me can be said in front of Steph” Chloe replied, “she is gonna be living with us”  
“Hm. I'm sorry but I can't for confidentiality reasons”

“Sooo...?” Chloe had followed Doctor Starr out of the room and across the hallway to an unoccupied room where she leaned back against the wall, maintaining her nonchalance  
“Ms. Amber is out of danger,” The doctor thought she'd state that first, she found it harder to deal with family if they were panicking about their loved one’s wellbeing  
“That's good to hear” Chloe sighed in relief  
“But this isn't her first overdose is it?” Starr inquired. She already knew but was curious as to if Chloe would admit to that  
“No...?” Chloe's eyebrow raised in question, wordlessly asking Starr how she had gotten that information  
“I pulled some of her records from Arcadia General. She's gotten quite a history of substance use” the doctor explained  
“Believe me, I know. Not gonna be a problem is it?!” Chloe's first thought was to protect her girl from unnecessary accusations and judgment  
“Oh no!” Starr quickly exclaimed, “I‘m firmly of the belief that substance abusers are not at fault for what's essentially their body demanding something their body has gotten used to”  
“Oh, okay” Chloe seemed to relax even more at the doctor's words.  
“That being said... I am of the opinion that Ms. Amber needs intensive help” Starr's voice hardened into a serious tone  
“Oh... What does that mean?” Chloe crossed her arms, subconsciously preparing herself to fight her girlfriend's corner should it become necessary  
“Your girlfriend has not only shown that she's a consistent danger to herself but that she has a disregard for others as well”  
“What the... What the _fuck_?!” Chloe almost spat the last word, she has been caught off guard by the doctor's comment and was reeling at the accusation. Furthermore, she was _apocalyptically_ pissed with the doctor's remark. “She's been out cold pretty much since we arrived, and I've only spent about a half hour away when I was talking to another friend about things on Skype. Unless you're telling me that _somehow_ , in the half hour I was gone, a heavily out of it nineteen-year-old girl put someone in danger while knocked out on a potent mix of alcohol, methamphetamine _and_ coke...?!” Chloe knew her voice had risen somewhat and it was more than likely that Steph, possibly others too, could hear what she was screaming a few inches from the doctor's face but frankly, she didn't give a damn.  
“Ms. Price!!” the doctor raised her voice slightly and used a more firm tone with the punk stood before her  
“No, I don't think you know what you're talking about!! Rach has never endangered anyone else's lives!!” Chloe knew that statement was _not quite_ true but there was no way she'd allow anyone to defame her girlfriend. There had only been one time when Rachel had put other people in danger and that was a long, long time ago. Furthermore it had been her Rachel had been endangering so to her that didn't matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be my last chapter for awhile, some people have been saying not so nice things about my works.


	17. Explosion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought it'd be about time I updated this fic...  
> More notes at the end

Chloe stormed from the hospital, nobody dared get in her way, not even Steph who had heard the punk's enraged screaming from where she was sat in Rachel's room, through several closed doors. The auburn-haired nerd had gone to check on her childhood friend only to see the blunette storming away toward the front of the hospital and their RV. _What the hell did that doctor say?_ It was a rhetorical question as she had gotten the general gist of what the doctor had said, it seemed the doctor had accused Rachel of causing people to get hurt. Steph had groaned the moment she heard the punk’s screaming, it would not go down well with Chloe and she hardly felt sorry for the terrified-looking doctor. _You caused this, it’s all on you_. Steph too felt the urge to jump to her blonde friend’s defense but she realized Chloe most likely had it under control  
The doctor emerged a few seconds later and she sighed as her eyes met Steph's, she shook her head. “Ms. Gingrich” she spoke to acknowledge the punk's best friend as she began to move away quickly, in the opposite direction Chloe went in.  
Steph smiled a slight smile, _one does not go looking for a woman of that family when they're pissed, unless one wants to pay for it._ Steph absentmindedly ignored the joke opportunity as she had gotten fed up of William's dad and Price jokes by the time she was ten, though not really since she loved William's good-bad jokes. Steph had to admit, based off of what Chloe had screamed, the doctor deserved a bit of a tongue lashing. “She's not normally so angry” Steph called after the doctor, “so whatever you said must've really pissed her off. I know you can't tell me cos of patient confidentiality and all but I'll hear it from Chloe the moment she's cooled off enough...”  
“Your friend has a fiery temper” the doctor replied with a fading smile. She had hoped to avoid any further interactions with that particular patient’s friends and family, at least until her next shift  
“And you poked the bear with a stick” Steph retorted. _You're an idiot_.  
“Hm. Maybe I was a little blunt” the doctor admitted, “but maybe you'll be open to what I'm trying to say?”  
“Oh?” Steph tapped the wall, the only outward sign of her mounting annoyance at the doctor. _Playing with fire here, Doc_  
“Has Rachel ever put anyone's life in danger?” The doctor asked  
“No” Steph replied immediately, she had been expecting the question but felt as if she had replied too quickly  
“I see...” the doctor was nodding slowly as the information sunk in  
“I heard what you were asking Chloe, so was sorta expecting the question” Steph explained, attempting to hide her nerves under a layer of nonchalance.  
“The simple fact is that your friend, Rachel is still a danger to herself even if she isn't a danger to others. How do you plan to keep her safe?”  
“We are working on that” Steph confirmed, knowing that they still had time since Rachel hadn't yet woken up  
“You do know I can order her to be committed involuntarily? Fifty-one fifty”  
“Well, shit” Steph groaned, closing her eyes. If the doctor had thought Chloe's earlier explosion was bad, she hadn't seen anything yet

*****

Chloe slammed the door of the RV shut and threw the stress ball Steph had gotten her for moments such as that, when her anger became so overwhelming that she'd otherwise break something. “FUCK!!!” was the blunette's only thought, a thought which she yelled out loud without a shit given to anyone who might be offended by the swearing. _Fuck!! Fuck you, doctor. My Rach hasn’t ever hurt anyone, hell she was stabbed trying to save my life!_

“Chloe?” Steph stepped into the RV, Chloe's stress ball narrowly missing her head. It had been an indeterminate amount of time since Chloe had left the hospital but Steph figured it was best to let Chloe cool off before trying to speak to her. _Whoa_. “Chloe? You okay?” stepping up into the RV, Steph looked around for the feisty blunette.  
“Over here, Steph” a croaky voice came from over by the couch the girls had watched a movie from a mere couple hours before Rachel relapsed  
“Oh, Chlo” Steph rushed over to the other young woman, pulling her into her arms. _Shit, maybe she needed you Gingrich. Of course she wouldn't ever admit to it, you idiot_. “Yuck,” Steph blew some of the girl’s blue hair away from her mouth, gaining a small chuckle from the blunette in reward despite the tears running down her face. “Everything's gonna be fine, Chloe. Everything's gonna be fine, everything's gonna be fine”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading this and I'm sorry about not updating it for awhile. 
> 
> Yet again shit hit the fan regarding two of my fics. This time I was wrongly accused of plagiarism and while I had a lengthy author's note written all I'm going to say on the matter is that these false accusations impacted my muse and pissed me off a great deal.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and reviews!!


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